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Apple Tops Most Admired List...Again

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Apple(AAPL - Get Report) has again topped Fortune'slist of the world's 50 most admired companies, ahead of Google(GOOG) and Amazon(AMZN).

Despite seeing its shares slip 2.5% during the last three months, the Cupertino, Calif.-based "financial juggernaut" has maintained its appeal, according to Fortune. The magazine cited the iPhone maker's $13 billion in net income last quarter, which made Apple the most profitable company in the world during that time period.

"The company has its fanatical customer base, and it still refuses to compete on price, making the iconic iPhone and iPad products that are still widely seen as prestige devices," Fortune wrote. "Competition may be stiff, but so far it remains behind: In Q4 2012, the iPhone 5 was the world's best-selling smartphone, followed in second place by the iPhone 4S."

Despite supply constraints, Apple sold a quarterly record of 51 million iPhones during its recent fiscal first quarter, up from 47.8 million iPhones in the same period last year. There have also been signs that the recent launch of Apple's iPhone 5s and 5c on China Mobile's(CHL) network is playing out better than expected.

Apple also sold 26 million iPads during its most recent quarter, another record, up from 22.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

This marks the seventh year in a row that Apple has topped Fortune's list of most admired companies.

Shares of Apple, which hosts its annual shareholders' meeting later today, gained 0.55% to $530.55 in Friday trading.

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